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About this programme

This full-time conjoint programme includes the New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3) and New Zealand Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2).

If you’ve ever wanted to have your own beehive or work in the beekeeping industry, this programme is for you. New Zealand’s agriculture and horticulture industries are dependent on the pollination of fruit and crops for their survival. You can learn all the skills required for successful apiculture, and combine it with the knowledge to successfully grow the best species of flowering plants to provide pollen for your bees.

What you will learn

Graduates of this qualification will be able to:

You’ll learn all the fundamentals of beekeeping, as well as how to manipulate hives and implement disease control measures. You’ll be able to transport hives safely and establish them in new sites.

You’ll also learn basic skills in organics, nursery production, and plant propagation, and how to apply these alongside your beekeeping activities.

With knowledge of both apiculture and horticulture, you’ll be well placed to run a beekeeping business, or manage your own hives.

Apiculture Courses

Level

Credits

AP301000 - Beekeeping Fundamentals

Aim: To introduce students to current apiculture industry regulations, the fundamentals of beekeeping, and equipment required for working with a beehive.

3

15

AP301001 - Manipulating Hives

Aim: To provide students with the knowledge and skills required to establish, manage and manipulate bee colonies including honey extraction.

3

20

AP301002 - Beehive Disease Management Planning

Aim: To provide students with the fundamental skills and knowledge to correctly identify beehive diseases, pests, and disorders as part of a disease management plan.

3

15

AP301003 - Beehive Disease Management Control

Aim: To provide students with the basic practical skills and knowledge to control and/or eliminate beehive diseases, pests, and disorders as part of a disease management plan.

3

15

Primary Industry Courses

Level

Credits

2284.0001 - Introduction to Primary Industries

Aim: To enable students to carry out practical production tasks in Primary Industries.

2

30

2284.0002 - Safe Work Practices

Aim: To enable students to use safe work practices in a Primary Industry workplace.

2

10

Entry Requirements

All applicants must:

be at least 16 years old at the time the programme commences

be able to read, write and communicate in English at a basic level

be physically able to complete the programme-specific outcomes.

Qualification gained

Courses and programmes may be cancelled, postponed or have their content or configuration changed from time to time (including during the academic year) at the discretion of NorthTec. Fees are an indication, include GST and apply to domestic students only. View terms and conditions

Kelly Retimana - Apiculture

“I had a change of lifestyle after being a caregiver for a long time, so I was looking at available courses and this one appealed. You can study from books and see things online but with bees you actually have to see and do in order to know.”

“This course maintains your interest all the way through as we learn to look after the bees and the hives. We learned about the history of all the different types of hives and that to be commercial they need moveable parts. Then there are further courses to explore things like value-added products, how to run a beekeeping business and queen rearing.”

“The biggest challenge for me was the first time I walked through a swarm of bees – even with all the gear on. It’s not normal to walk through 5000 bees, but this is what we signed up for. We have to learn to get stung and continue to do the job. That’s beekeeping.”

“My classmates are all adult students and we’re here because we want to be, so it’s a great learning environment, and the tutor has been in the industry so can give us feedback on both commercial and domestic situations. It’s great that he is open to us trying something a bit outside the curriculum in order to learn more about the world of bees. He also knows what works for this region, which differs in timing from even the Hokianga.”

“I’d like to have my own hives and honey, but whether I decide to do it on a small scale for barter, or commercially, I’ll have to get a job to earn the money to build up my hive numbers. I’m also keen to do some of the follow-up bee-related courses. Bees are so fascinating that when you become interested in them, you get more and more interested.”

Nicholas Kemp - Apiculture

“In our area all kinds of people are interested in bees and they’re all doing their own thing. A group of us down at Pouto want to control what bees are on our trust land and to know they are handled in a co-ordinated and healthy way. We are part of a 9500 acre property with beef-stock, sheep and trees, and bees can be another aspect of the property.”

“Six of us are doing the course with the practical and most of the bookwork done on site at Pouto but we come up here once a month for intensive study.”

“We plan to put up a purpose built honey extraction and processing shed that will be the basis of an industry on the peninsula, but first we need to get on with learning the basics.”